SWCA Environmental Consultants released its 16th annual Sustainability Report, highlighting the company’s progress towards its sustainability ambitions and its dedication to sustainability for employees, clients, and communities.
SWCA’s 2023 Sustainability Report celebrates several accomplishments:
- Significantly expanded the company’s sustainability services through the acquisition of a global sustainability consultant.
- Joined the United Nations Global Compact, a commitment to align operations with 10 universally accepted principles.
- Conducted its first materiality assessment to help identify and understand the relative importance of specific sustainability topics to the company.
- Increased the percentage of leadership roles held by women from 47% in 2022 to 54% in 2023.
- Increased Spreading the Science (a program where employees contribute their time at schools, science fairs, nature festivals, and science-based nonprofits to conduct and cultivate environmental education) volunteer hours by 29%.
“Our project work, our people programs, and our philanthropy work are where SWCA excels in making positive contributions to the environment, our employees, and our communities,” said Joseph J. Fluder, III, SWCA president and chief executive officer. “Throughout the 2023 Sustainability Report, you will see the steps we took to improve our workplace for our people, to move closer to being a leader in sustainability, to bring sound science and creative solutions to global environmental challenges, and to maintain our dedication to employee-ownership.”
Positive Impact Areas
SWCA further defined the company’s positive impact areas – the five United Nations Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) where SWCA can make the biggest difference. Highlights include:
- Designed restoration for 29 projects in 18 states in 2023 including providing technical expertise for a $2+ billion program to rebuild the Mississippi River Delta by reconnecting the Mississippi River to its surrounding wetlands.
- Supported 800+ renewable energy projects with over 45%+ of revenue coming from renewable generation projects and their associated transmission lines in 2023.
- Completed 259+ wildfire protection plans, post-fire plans, hazard assessments/fuels plans, plan compliance projects, and educational outreach programs over the past 25 years.
- Dr. Erica Gaddis, a senior natural resources director at SWCA, authored sections and served as chair for United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) publications to further the understanding of water-related ecosystems.
Aligning with the three pillars of SWCA’s Sustainability Framework, additional report highlights include:
Planet
SWCA is committed to lowering or offsetting energy consumption in many ways. In 2023, SWCA started tracking Energy Use Intensity at the company, measuring it at 31.02 kBTU/square foot, and will continue to track this number annually to gain a better understanding of energy use trends. SWCA also purchased 1,511 megawatts in renewable energy certificates to offset the total electricity consumed in our offices.
In addition to project work, SWCA never settles when it comes to making changes to lessen its operations’ impact. SWCA’s Environmental Sustainability Committee expanded the Sustainability Badge program, a clear, effective framework to measure, track, and inspire environmental sustainability at the local level. Offices can earn badges that represent an achievable sustainability goal on the topics of fleet, fieldwork, purchasing, waste, energy, water, and education. In 2023, 80% of offices had earned at least one badge.
People
Through a variety of initiatives, SWCA improved the employee retention rate by 6%, increased diversity (non-white) hires by 16% through targeted recruiting efforts and increased the percentage of leadership vacancies filled by internal candidates from 48% in 2022 to 63% in 2023.
Over the years, SWCA has consciously spent time and effort to continually better the workplace for all employees. Employee feedback is highly valued and acted upon at SWCA. In the latest formal employee engagement survey held in 2023, SWCA received an 88% overall employee satisfaction score, an increase of two percentage points from the prior survey.
Partnerships
Keeping client relationships front and center, SWCA made improvements to the company’s client feedback program. In 2023, SWCA increased the number of formal client responses by 134% while maintaining a highly favorable 97.6% client satisfaction rate. SWCA’s Net Promoter Score, a metric indicative of client loyalty, also improved by 12 points from a 73 in 2022 to an 85 in 2023.
As a part of SWCA’s Gives Back program, offices collectively held over 190 events, supported 172 organizations, and logged more than 3,513 volunteer hours to support the places where we live, work, and play. Additionally, SWCA increased the total amount of employee donations and corporate matching by nearly 20%.
Governance
As an employee-owned company, SWCA is committed to growing the business in a sustainable way for its current and future shareholders (employees). Due to the company’s strong growth in the last few years, the Board of Directors and CEO decided to scale the organizational structure and add three new C-Suite positions in 2023. SWCA also has a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy to manage and protect data in a way that allows the company to stay ahead of the rapidly evolving cybersecurity landscape, minimize risks, and increase trust with clients.
SWCA’s 2023 Sustainability Report reflects the company’s unwavering dedication to creating a positive impact on the environment and society.